The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an optical device.
For an optical element having an optical portion such as a photoreceptor or the like, it is known to be advantageous to provide a space between the surface having the optical portion and a cover for sealing. Therefore, the method of manufacturing an optical device is known in which, after cutting the optical elements into individual elements, the optical portion is sealed by a cover, with a space provided between the optical portion and the cover. When a wafer or similar substrate is cut, cutting waste and similar is generated. If the sealing is carried out with contamination such as this cutting waste still adhering to the optical portion, it will not be possible later to remove this contamination from within the space, resulting in the problem of reduced quality of the optical device. In particular, in the case of a solid state imaging device with a microlens attached to the optical portion, since the microlens is not flat, contamination adheres more easily, and complete removal is problematic. Therefore, in the case that a microlens is attached to the optical portion, there is the problem of further deterioration in the quality of the solid state imaging device.